


Simple Machines

by Darkmagyk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion, Alternate Universe - Thieves, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Gun Violence, Heist, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23421763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkmagyk/pseuds/Darkmagyk
Summary: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and their blended family of a crew are perhaps the best thieves in the entire world. But sometimes, even for the best of the best, something goes wrong.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 12
Kudos: 145





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a tumblr prompt. The Argo II crew is just asking to be a heist AU.

Leo’s working on the lock, Piper and Frank are standing at the end of the alley, serving as lookouts in the dark night. Hazel has a towel pressed against the wound. And Percy is being useless. 

Or well, not quite useless. He’s holding Annabeth, carrying her prone body. She’s not delicate or light, she’s tall and all strong muscle. He’s glad for the weight of her in his arm. It keeps his hands busy, gives his body something physical to do. But he doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything useful. Not when she’s hurt. 

“Seaweed Brain,” She murmurs into his chest. Her voice is strained, her breathing is heavy. She’s lost some blood. “You’re thinking too much. It’s bad for you.”

“I thought you liked thinking.” He says. Hazel can hear them, and she keeps shooting Percy worried looks, but she lets them talk. 

“ _I_ like thinking. You’re too pretty to think.”

“Aw, you think I’m pretty?” Percy says, because it’s something else to focus on and think about that’s not the love of his life bleeding out from a gunshot wound in his arms.

“We are married in like nine different jurisdictions.” Annabeth tells him like those means anything. They do of course. But they have to pretend they don’t.

“Weddings for cons don’t count.” Percy reminds. That was one of Luke’s old rules. He knows Annabeth still has a marriage license for a wedding between Annie and Lucas Castle. Percy keeps one for Percival and Luc Oceans in one of his most secure rainy-day holes. The loops of Luke’s real signature and fake name are all they have left of him. 

Percy hates it. But the idea that all he might have left of Annabeth soon is the name Elizabeth Pallas written on a Reno marriage license is painful. 

It wouldn’t be true. He’d also have an apartment full of her blueprints and plans. That first thing she stole with Luke, a bronze dagger she was never able to let go. All her books in Greek and Latin. Her old Yankees cap. The smell of her perfume on the other side of the bed. 

Annabeth’s existence is so tied to his, she’s been his partner in everything, including crime, since they were twelve. Losing her would be worse than losing Luke. Or that time he thought he was going to lose his mom or Thalia. He had survived those with Annabeth’s help, sharing the loss with her. 

The thought of being alone without Annabeth is terrifying. 

“Percy,” Annabeth says again, because they’ve been at this too long for her to not know what he’s thinking at all times, “Stop it.” She’s pale. She’s always pale, she’s Scandinavian. But under the bright electric streetlights of the city, her pallor is sickly. 

“Got it,” Leo calls, and pushes the door open. Leo’s a master of locks. Percy learned to pick them for the first time at age 7, then studied under Luke Castellan, who seemed to be able to control the things with his mind, and even he’s impressed with Leo. A normal bar backdoor shouldn’t have been a problem, but this is no normal bar. Percy knows the lock is top of the line, maybe even custom, and the door that surrounds it is reinforced. Leo’s success will also mean that there will be a new lock within the week.

But Percy doesn’t care about that, he shoulders into the building, only vaguely aware of Hazel jogging to keep up with him and keep pressure on Annabeth’s arm.

He walks through the stockroom, he knows that in the back, behind a shelf of cheap wine, is a little back room. It’s got a round table for poker, a mini fridge, a safe that would probably require even Leo to break out the explosives, and a little cot for when the gremlin who ran the bar didn’t feel like going to his actual apartment. Percy lay Annabeth on the cot and doesn't even feel bad about the fact that she is going to get blood on it.

“The fronts out that way.” Percy just kind of flings his left hand in the general direction, he keeps his back to the rest of the crew, as he knells by Annabeth. “Go and get help.”

“You’re going to be ok, Annabeth.” Hazel says from her place at his side.

“I know I am,” Annabeth says, so sure. She’s always so sure of everything. And Percy was used to listening to her, believing her. Her grey eyes were as fierce as ever when they met his. “Did you make sure to reset the power before we left the building, so our system viruses can’t be traced?”

“Annabeth,” Percy nearly cries, “You got shot.”

“And I’m trying to keep us from getting caught.” Her voice is quiet, but he would know that tone anywhere. He’s known Annabeth since they were twelve and pocketing things at the corner store. She’s always had that commitment to keep from getting caught. She learned it early, with Luke and Thalia, and she learned it at her mother’s grave. 

“I cut the power, Wise Girl.” He says. Because he did actually yell at Frank to do it as he ran out of the Mother Earth Inc. building, carrying Annabeth. Percy is a professional crock. He has his crew’s back. He learned that from watching Luke both succeed and fail. He doesn’t want them caught, either.

“Good, good.” She sounds a little dreaming then, like all her effort was saved to make sure the crew wasn’t going to wind up in jail. The fight’s gone out of her.

“I want to kill Arachne.” Percy grits out. “I want to destroy her with my bare hands.” The look on that woman’s face when she’d leveled the gun at Annabeth is going to haunt him for the rest of his life. And given some of the things he’s seen, that is saying something.

“Percy,” Piper says, quietly from behind him. He wasn’t even sure she was still back there. He’d heard a couple of footsteps when he’d ordered help, but Piper and Leo weighed about the same, and in sneakers, you couldn’t hear the difference in their footsteps. “You did kill her.” Percy knew that, though his memories of taking that ceremonial sword off the wall and stabbing the art curator who’d shot Annabeth are fuzzy and blurry. He hadn’t stayed to watch her die. 

“I want to do it again,” Percy growls. Annabeth’s hurt and he would feel less useless if he could get more revenge. He squeezes Annabeth’s hand. A promise to do better, maybe, or a desperate plea from the women who’s always there for him. She returns the squeeze. It isn’t very strong.

Even as he says it, as he waits at Annabeth’s side, his mind spins off into other possibilities. Annabeth’s the planner, but he’s good at threat assessment. Arachne’s death is going to change things. An acclaimed art critic and curator. And anyone who’s anything knows she’s also a forger and fence. People will notice, people will talk. Athena Pallas name _will_ come up. So might the name of her only daughter. 

Percy desperately needs her alive for that. For the planning and the pick pocketing. But also because he can’t do this alone. He doesn’t think he can live in a world without Annabeth Chase, her smile, her laugh, by his side. He’d tried that. 

They’d tried it. After Kronos and Luke they’d gone their separate ways for a little while. A year they agreed, to make her the heat was properly off. Percy has stolen one of the best private collections of antiquity in that time and stolen himself a new crew. The most productive ‘what I did on my summer vacation’ ever. 

Then they’d met up again, with four new people between them. Leo sending Hazel slightly love struck looks and Piper looking between her boot and Frank and Percy, wondering if she’d have to stab them with her hidden knife, Percy and Annabeth had grasped hands and promised _not again_. Any and all cool offs in the future had to be together. 

It cannot end like this, now.

“It’s ok,” Piper says. Maybe she’s talking to Percy or Annabeth, or even Hazel, who’s breath is ragged beside them. “It’s going to be ok.” Piper’s voice is special. It makes it so easy to believe her.

Percy and Annabeth have talked about it together, late at night when they plot their world domination. They could put on an act and maybe even an accent, but a grifter, a true grifter, like Piper, was a special skill that only came along once in a generation. 

Percy’s known a lot of brilliant thieves: Luke, his cousins, the Stolls, Zoe, Hermes, Selina in her way, and Beckendorff in his. He knows even more criminal masterminds: Annabeth, Le Rue, Hylla, Poseidon, Uncle H, Fucking Jupiter, even Kronos, may he rest in the fucking pieces Percy and Annabeth cut his body up into.

Piper is something else entirely. The closest Percy’s ever seen is Tyson’s ability to transform into anyone on the phone. But Piper can practically shape entirely new realities around herself. She didn’t just lie; she believes and shares her truth. It is captivating to watch her on a mark, but even now it is impossible not to fall under her spell at least a little. Percy lets himself be carried away by her reassurance. Piper’s truth will become his.

Annabeth is going to be ok. She has to be. They still have things to steal and scores to settle.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank is like two feet taller than Leo. So, it’s nice that he’s not running on his giraffe legs and leaving Leo in the dust as they make it to the front of the bar.

 _The Ghost King_ is a shady place. Leo’s thought that since Annabeth dragged him and Piper to New York City and inside it. The walls, floor, bar top, tables and chairs and bar stools are all black, but also old, so all the black’s faded to various kinds of shabby looking shades dark grey depending on the material.

The lights all have a sickly green look to them, and they flicker randomly in a way that makes Leo want to reach for his tool belt and _fix_ them. They make all the skulls on the walls look animated. It's like an extended Día de Muertos without any of the color. 

Leo hates it. 

Apparently, the bad lighting makes it a favorite place for New York criminals, all of whom Annabeth and Percy apparently knew from summer camp or some shit.

But Leo’s eye is out for the owner, not some guy who will try and sell him the Brooklyn Bridge. He’s not easy to spot. And despite the situation, the fact that Annabeth is maybe bleeding out in the back, he can’t help but wonder if the guy dresses in black to blend into the bar, or if he made the bar black so it would match his aesthetic.

There aren’t many people as far as he can tell. A bored looking woman behind the bar. And a couple people sitting on bar stools drinking the cheap beer. But people are always hiding in the shadows at _The Ghost King._

Frank notices Nico Di Angelo first, sitting in the furthest corner, the darkest shadow. Under the low green light, he looks as bad as Annabeth. His skin the color of curdled milk.

He’s not alone at his table, but Leo doesn’t really care. Frank has two steps on Leo now, because he’s a giant. So, Leo’s bouncing up behind him, and only catches the end of Frank asking for a first aid kit.

“You break into my backroom?” di Angelo says. It always weirds Leo out, di Angelo has the exact same cadence as Percy half the time, but he takes all of Percy’s sarcasm and sucks the water right out. Leo grew up in group homes and juvie as the funny kid, too. But the extreme they take it to is something else.

Under normal circumstances he’d shoot back something about di Angelo’s shitty lock, even though it was anything but. But under these circumstances Annabeth’s been shot and Percy’s killed a guy and that’s why it takes him a full thirty seconds to recognize the person sitting across from the sticky black table.

But Leo meets electric blue eyes, even in the green light and he’d know Jason Fucking Grace.

You never forget your first heartbreak.

Jason had the nerve to smile at them, _to smile_. And Leo wanted to punch him in his stupid face. 

He doesn’t, because Leo learned early that he wasn’t a hitter and Jason has nearly a foot on him. But the impulse remains. 

Jason-No, the Cop. Leo shouldn’t think of this man as the guy who he’d gone to minor league baseball games with, the guy who he’d made enchiladas for and then watched Disney’s Hercules with, the first person who he’d told about his mom and the system since he and Piper had bonded in juvie-by-any-other-name. 

That had all been a lie. Undercover, in the middle of an investigation. Jason was really Detective Grace. His stories about a childhood obsession with the Giants, about how his younger cousin loathed Hercules, about his own mother’s self-destruction, were all lies made up in some precinct to gain the trust of a couple of thieves. 

And Leo can almost let that go, almost. Cops have it out for Leo, always had, and sometimes they played good cop, and Leo thought they were good guys and he could trust them until they pulled a gun or lied to a judge and locked him up. 

But what the guy did to Piper? That was inexcusable. 

A classic honeypot situation. They’d been hot and heavy for months while The Cop was worming his way into their little criminal underworld. Leo doesn’t know a lot about ethics, beyond stealing from the Assholes to give to the Leo, but he is pretty sure that sleeping with a woman while trying to get enough evidence to arrest her is not ethical. And he’s sure making her fall in love with him is worse. 

Leo doesn’t want to look away from the traitorous asshole, but he has more important things to do than whine about an L.A. cop who’s all the way across the country in a seediest bar in Manhattan.

The Cop’s smile fell, just a little bit. Leo’s face probably wasn’t happy at all.

“Um- hi Leo,” He said, he was wearing glasses now. But everything else was the same as 3 years ago. His close-cropped hair. His pressed khakis. The scar on his lip. The perfect blonde haired, blue-eyed all-American guy. 

He should have known better than to trust a good-looking white guy.

Fuck the police, and all that.

Frank was still talking to Nico, and Leo has no idea where in the conversation they are. When they look at him, all he can say is: “Annabeth got shot, can you help, please.”

Nico and The Cop both swear very very loudly in something that is not Spanish but is definitely romance based. All the other patrons of the bar look at them, but Jason fucking leaps over the table. Like he’s goddamn Batman.

The other three, taller than Leo by an annoying amount, all take off for the back. And then Nico does his own jump leaping behind the bar and throwing a white plastic container, the first aid kit, at Frank.

Leo follows Frank to the back, and into the stock room, Jason is at their heels.

Leo hates the picture in front of him. The backroom is better lit then the bar so he can see Hazel and Percy kneeling at Annabeth’s side like she’s a saint on her deathbed. Piper hovers over them, though she turns when she hears them come in.

Leo knows the exact moment she sees Jason, because she freezes. And Piper never freezes, she’s an actress, she once told Leo she lives by the _yes, and_ principal. He’s still not sure what that means, but her reaction makes him want to take a swing at Jason even more.

But Jason isn’t even looking at her. He grabbed a stack of white bar towels from a shelf near the door and joined the bed.

Leo got to Piper’s side. He isn’t sure the last time she’s looked this lost. Maybe when they found out Jason was a cop or maybe back at the Wilderness School, when they found that Piper’s dad’s manager had stolen all his money, and Tristin was probably going to have to serve jail time.

He grabs her hand and she basically falls into him. She’s ten inches taller than him on a good day, but she’s not wearing heels today, so it's only six. She doesn’t say anything, which is the shame. The world is normally better for Leo when she’s talking.

“Do cops know first aid?” Annabeth is wheezing up at Jason, the ghost of a smile on her face, “I thought they only taught you how to cause gunshot wounds.”

“Hey,” Jason shrugged, “I have skills outside of being a cop.” He and Percy are messing with the first aid kit.

“It went through and through,” Percy says, “Good, that’s good.”

“It’s going to be fine.” Jason says. “He makes an honest woman out of you yet, Chase?”

The wheezing coming from Annabeth might have been a laugh. “Jason Grace, how dare you. I have never been an honest woman a day in my life. And he wouldn’t like me nearly as much if I was. But if you’re asking if he’s proposed? No, Not yet. Your step-mother made some ominous comments about marriage last time we ran into her.”

“I did get a ring,” Percy cuts in, “And it's beautiful. And you have to live if you want me to give it to you.”

“I always knew I would witness your proposal,” Nico calls from the doorway, before walking into the room. He’s followed by a blond guy dressed in pajama pants with suns on them, a Texas Longhorns t-shirt covered in bleach stains, and sneakers without socks. He’s holding what looked like an old-fashioned doctor’s bag. “And I figured it would be at a really inopportune time.” He led the blond guy to the overcrowded cot, but Jason quickly gave up his spot to him. “Remind me to tell you sister she owes me twenty dollars.” He mutters to Jason. “This is Will,” Nico says to the room at large, “He’s a doctor.”

“You’re Dad’s?” Jason asks, he takes two steps towards Leo and Piper, and then catches the looks on their faces and steps back again.

“Dad thinks that if you’re going to die,” Nico says, “You should probably die. No, Will’s my friend.”

“That’s not what you were saying in bed last night.” Will shoots back, but he doesn’t look up from whatever he’s doing with his hands and Annabeth’s arms.

“No, I said ‘beg for it.’” Nico smirks. “There is nothing you can say in front of Jason or Percy that will embarrass me at this point. They know way too much. You should give up trying.” He glances around the room with a raised eyebrow, as if daring anyone else to say something. Then he meets Hazel’s wide eyes and they both let out the same high pitched squeak. It would be hilarious in any other situation. 

Hazel stands up and takes a step back, fanning her face like she always does when she’s embarrassed. Nico’s no longer green skin goes bright red. 

“So,” Hazel says, “The um, cute doctor?” she gestures at Will. The idea that Hazel Levesque, who basically had to be pulled into a life of crime kicking if not screaming by Percy, talking about dating with Nico di Angelo is more absurd than seeing Golden Boy Jason Grace in a bad guy bar in New York City. 

Nico just nods, and Jason lets out a low whistle. “You really still have a type, don’t you, kid.”

“I am two year younger than you.” Is what Nico says back. 

“Now isn’t the time.” Percy snaps from Annabeth’s side. He’s given the doctor some ground, but now his hand is resting on her face.

“There is always time to tease Nico about his love life, Seaweed Brain.” Annabeth says. Leo isn’t sure if she sounds any better. She’s breathing heavily and her voice is quiet. But she doesn’t sound worse. “Remind him I’ve been shot before. It doesn’t have to be a big deal.” 

“She’s been shot before, Percy,” Jason says at the same time as Nico turns to Leo. 

“Who’d Percy kill this time?” 

“What?” Leo asks, his eyes darting to Jason. The Cop hasn’t started interrogating them about who they are or why they are with known thieves Piper McLean and Leo Valdez, yet. But Leo doesn’t want to bring up any murder in front of The Cop. Partly it's because despite popular belief, there is often honor among thieves. And partly, you know, cop.

“Last time Annabeth got shot,” Jason explains, “Percy pushed Ethan something or other out a window. What’d he do this time.”

Finally, Piper and Leo share a look. They aren’t exactly opposed to violence, never have been. But before they’d joined up with this crew it had been mostly Leo’s pyrotechnics. They are a grifter and a safecracker, as a rule. Percy stabbing a guy has been a lot. And Annabeth’s impending doom is a welcome follow up distraction. 

The fact that Jason is here, and knows Percy and Annabeth make no sense. The fact that he’s casually talking about murder is giving Leo a little bit of a headache. 

He doesn’t say anything. 

“This woman named Arachne, she was a curator for this private collection. ” Frank finally says. “She shot Annabeth and-” He doesn’t finish.

“That was Arachne?” Hazel asks, “The Arachne? Arachne Web?” The name doesn’t mean anything to Leo outside the file that he was given for this job. Some art lady or something. 

“ _The_ Arachne,” Annabeth agrees, “The late Arachne, now.” For someone at death’s door, she sounds very pleased and very vicious. 

“Arachne,” Jason breaths out the name like it doesn’t make sense. Then his eyes go wide. Leo spent six months living in the same Santa Monica studio apartment as Jason. It's been three years, but he’s never never seen Jason look so shocked. And maybe even a little scared, “holy shit, you guys are going after Gaea.” Jason flings himself into one of the chairs around the little poker table, and then honest to god facepalms. Like he can’t understand what’s happening. 

Leo just stares at him, but so do Piper and Frank and Hazel. 

Percy and Will are still crowding Annabeth.

“You didn’t warn them.” Nico says, he’s tone is as dry as ever, but he’s looking at Hazel who meets his eye and bites her lip. 

“It is going to be fine.” Percy says. 

“It's Terra Gaea.” Jason says, not looking up from his hand. 

“Well,” Will says, still looking down at Annabeth “you’re going to be fine. Let me see if I can grab a few more things. I might run an IV, get you some fluids. Make sure it sticks. I don’t think you need a transfusion, but since you aren’t going to a hospital it will make me feel better. ” He stands up and begins to put things back in his bag. Hazel goes to help him. 

When he’s done, he gives Nico a kiss and nods to all of them “Not that it really matters. Because Gaea’s going to kill us all.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this. It only took me forever. 
> 
> I hope people like it.

“It isn’t that bad.” Percy says. He's not looking at any of them, but now she kind of suspects it is less because of his concern and more because he doesn’t want to meet their eyes. 

Then he runs one of the bar clothes across her forehead and down her cheek to wipe away the sweat, as gentle as anything. So maybe he’s also still worried about her. 

Percy’s always been able to multitask when it came to his undying affection. It's not a bad trait in a boyfriend. 

Her mother once warned her that his loyalty could get his crew killed one day. 

But her mother was killed by Arachne Web. And Percy killed Arachne Web for her. 

“Sure it is. And because you came here right after robbing Gaea, she’s totally going to firebomb this place.” Nico says. He sounds as disaffected as ever, but Annabeth’s known him since he was ten, she can hear the hint of real worry in his voice. Nico’s pulled off more crazy shit then maybe just about anyone she knows beyond she and Percy. She doesn’t like his lack of confidence. 

“You’re being over dramatic,” Percy says. “We had the cameras, we cut the power. The only witness was Arachne Web, and I killed her. I didn’t even do it with my own weapon, I did it with what was there. And it wasn’t like she didn’t have a lot of enemies.” 

“Yeah, like Athena Pallas’s kids.” Jason offers. She can’t see him, and his voice sounds kind of muffled, but It's not a bad point. Annabeth needs to remember to call Malcolm, give him a heads up. 

“I don’t know why everyone is acting like I made a unanimous decision.” Percy complains. And that’s very fair. And as close as Percy’s going to get to throwing her under the bus. It is such a Percy thing too. He hadn’t chosen to go after Gaea. It hadn’t even been his idea. It had been her’s, they’d talked about it for months and months. 

And it isn’t like they didn’t tell their team that she Gaea is bad news. They had explained her reach, her sons, and that she was a nasty customer. It hadn’t quite been a vote, it is Percy and Annabeth’s crew, not a democracy, but they’d asked if anyone had any thoughts. 

Hazel in particular had been all in. She’d wanted them to go in tonight. 

“You know better.” Nico says. Annabeth can't see who he is talking to. Percy turns and watches, but doesn't say anything, so it isn’t directed at them. 

“I know she deserves to be dead.” Annabeth had never imagined hearing Hazel sound so vicious. 

“Everyone,” Piper says, apparently not nearly as concerned as Annabeth by Hazel’s outburst. “We need to stop. He’s a cop. Remember.”

Percy meets Annabeth’s eyes again and shrugs. Neither of them are sure what Jason’s doing here, Annabeth hadn’t known he was in town, and Percy would have mentioned it to her if he’d heard. But the fact that he’s a cop is neither a secret nor a problem. 

Sometimes she forgot that despite starting her larceny career at an early age, Piper grew up on the straight and narrow. 

“You're actually a cop?” Frank asks. Annabeth feels bad for him. He’d tried to be a cop once, she isn’t worried about his loyalties, but it might make him feel strange

Hazel made one of her shocked-worried noises. 

“He’s a dirty cop,” Percy says lazily, “It's why we let him hang out with us.”

“All cops are dirty,” Jason says, “the inherent state monopoly on violence unbalances the power from the get go. I’m just honest about it.”

“He also got a degree in sociology to piss off his dad and likes to show it off.” 

“I am very proud of pissing him off,” Jason agrees. “Also, my degree. What did you major in again? Surfing? Dropping out?”

“I did finish, eventually,” Percy shoots back, “And one of us went to Harvard, and it wasn’t you.”

“Because your girlfriend’s dad made some calls.” 

“Do you boys need to get out a ruler?” Will’s voice accompanies the sound of the door opening. 

“They did that once,” Nico says, “in high school. They made me find the ruler.”

“It was awkward for all involved.” Annabeth remembers. She and Percy hadn’t even been properly dating at the time. She’d had to pitch a fit about seeing him naked, and then she’d held that picture in her mind for the next year, until she finally got him all to herself. 

Percy turns to Nico then, who Annabeth can see when Percy moves a little bit to allow Will back, “Did you ever pass the bar?” Nico’s shrugs in return.

Annabeth laughs and laughs, and then groans and groans, because dying laughing isn’t great when you’re suffering from a bullet wound. 

“Let's not try to make my patient laugh anymore,” Will advises. He sets up a bag of fluids and begins preparing for the IV.

“Yeah,” Piper agrees, “I want to go back to the fact that you’re a cop. And apparently a dirty one.”

Piper is always calm and level headed. Not by nature, Annabeth is pretty sure, but by skill and affect. So the raw anger in her voice is surprising. 

“Can I sit up,” Annabeth whispers to Will, “I have got to see this.” Any boyfriend of Nico’s has to live for the drama, at least a little bit, and so he and Percy help her to sit up straight. Then Percy sits next to her so she can lean on him, and see Piper, being physically held back by Leo.

Neither of them look happy. 

“What are you talking about?” Jason asks, putting up his hands like Piper’s extended finger is a loaded gun. “You guys always knew that.”

“Sure,” Leo says through gritted teeth, “We knew you were a cop. We must have missed the memo on the dirty bit.” 

Jason frowns deeply at both of them, “Um, no offence, but do you think a lot of honest cops make friends with thieves?”

“Yeah,” Leo shot back, “it's called undercover?”

“We met at a baseball game,” Jason says, “Piper spotted me making a lift and complimented me on it. And I used the cash to buy her a hotdog. What about that is undercover. It was my best pickup ever.”

“That’s not saying a lot,” Percy mummers, but he’s ignored. 

“We know,” Leo said, “You did it so we’d get all friendly and you could know our plans. You even tricked us into knocking over that department store.”

“What? That was a favor for my step mother, I told you that at the time. I paid you for it.” Jason reminds them.

Annabeth has never heard any of this before. Jason’s never mentioned Piper and Leo, and Piper and Leo have never mentioned running with Jason, which Annabeth knew was not a particularly forgettable experience. 

“That’s entrapment.” Leo says.

“It’s really not. I didn’t do it in a police capacity.” Jason says back, “I mostly did it because those two,” he shot a look at Annabeth and Percy, “stopped doing favors for her.”

“Because she’s terrible.” Percy reminds him, “And Annabeth hates her.”

“Yeah, well, she opened her heart to accept me,” even if Annabeth hadn’t known the full story, and she was there when it was going down, Jason’s tone would make it clear that that isn’t what happened with Hera. “so sometimes I have to do shit for her. Like then. And that time with the Wolf House, which we were supposed to do together before I got dumped and you both ran off.”

“Wait, which one were you dating?” Nico asks. Jason glares back at him, but Nico just laughs, sizing Leo and Piper in consideration. 

“I hate you,” Jason says. 

“You shouldn’t, I had to help with that Wolf House thing when your boyfriend and girlfriend backed out.” 

“I’m so confused.” 

“No offence you guys, but you two were seriously smalltime back then and also not bad at your work. The LAPD wasn’t going to waste an undercover operative with you, if they had any idea that you were a team and operating out of LA. I checked a few times and didn’t find anything,” Jason sighed, “I was neck deep in a mob thing at work at the time. And it was a thing for my dad so it was the only thing I was doing with the police.”

“Your dad police too?” Piper asks.

Annabeth bursts out laughing, as did Nico and Percy. Though she has to stop because of the pain in her side. 

“Really, Cuz,” Percy asks, still laughing, “you never told your friends about your dad?”

“They know about your dad?” Jason asks.

“The one I’m sleeping with does?” Percy says, knocking his head lightly against her’s.

“What about his dad?” Piper said. “What about either of your dad’s.”

“Jason Grace, here, is a son of Jupiter. As in Zeus Jupiter.”

“Oh shut up, son of Neptune,” Jason shots back, but his voice was full of good humor. 

“I am a son of Poseidon,” Percy says, he turns to Annabeth like it is something she doesn’t know, “I’m on a first name basis with my dad.” 

Jason just laughs again, like any of that made since. 

“Jason Grace, Cop-Boy, Superman, couldn’t be the son of Zeus Jupiter.” Leo says.

“Jason Grace,” Frank says, like he knows the name, though Annabeth isn’t sure why he would. 

“I knew you looked familiar,” Hazel adds. “You came to the academy. Everyone said you were the best.” 

“Hazel Leveque and-” Jason looks at Frank like he doesn’t remember his name, “Zhang?” Frank nods almost excitedly. Like he is happy Jason remembered him. Percy had found Frank and Hazel at the Los Angeles Police Academy. Annabeth didn’t know much about that side of Jason’s life beyond the fact that Jupiter had made him go into law enforcement as part of his criminal empire, and Jason was a master of walking the line between doing what his dad wanted, and quietly ignoring him.

“Everyone said you were one of the best detectives in LA.” Hazel says. 

“They’d probably still say that,” Nico says, “He’s not actually honest about being a dirty cop, to the other cops.” 

“Even the other dirty cops,” Percy puts in, “When I was there everyone was all afraid of befriending me, because a couple guys saw me talk to Jason one lunch. They figured we’d be two birds of a feather. Which was hilarious, because he had gotten me into the system with a fake id.”

“I mean, you are birds of a feather,” Annabeth says, her attempt to bump his shoulder causes another wince in pain, “But like, jail birds.” 

“I have never been to jail.” Jason says. Percy can certainly not claim that. 

“I can think of five times,” NIco says. 

“Me too,” Percy agrees, “and Nico wasn’t there for at least three of them so-”

Now that she thinks about it, Annabeth has definitely sat between Percy and Jason in a holding cell, and between Jason and Thalia, with Percy nowhere in sight. 

“Such a dirty cop,” Nico says, “That he lies about his arrest record. 

“So, we’re going to ignore the fact that you’re both the sons of mob bosses?” Piper asks. 

“I hate to tell you this, if you didn’t already know, but I’m pretty sure it would be quicker to count the people in this room whose dads aren’t mob bosses or otherwise crooked. “

“What does that even mean, Will?” Annabeth asks, she isn’t sure what he knows, but spilling all the family secrets isn’t Nico’s style, particularly because he hasn’t even introduced the guy to said family yet. 

“Also, Annabeth’s dad is a history professor,” Percy says, “Just want the numbers to be clear.”

She laughs, momentarily distracted, “Yeah, but his family money does come from generations of mob involvement. And my mom was definitely an art thief.” 

“Well,” Piper says, definitely “My dad’s an actor. And Leo’s dad was a mechanic.” 

“And a deadbeat, and a magician with the power to disappear into thin air,” Leo shot in. 

“Frank’s was a soldier.” Piper adds. 

Leo, always quick to the math, follows her up. “That’s only too two, or two and a half if you count Annabeth.” 

“My dad is definitely a mercenary.” Frank says, shifting awkwardly in his bulk. He’s got the makings of a great hitter, if Annabeth can just get him out of his head a little more. He’s not comfortable in his skin, but that could be an asset, not a drawback if he could use it “And um, I know for a fact that he has mob ties. Annabeth was looking into it for me.” 

“Well, that’s still just three and a half to five. Us, Hazel, Nico, Will.” Leo says, “do not have mob boss parents.”

“You’ll have to count me out,” Will says as he feels up her arm, searching for a vain, “My dad is Apollon.”

Annabeth lets out a low whistle. But she can see it now. Will’s got Michael’s smile and Lee’s eyes, and also he looks like his dad. It only makes her a little uncomfortable. 

Jason and Percy both swear, in Latin and Greek respectively, because they both went to fancy prep schools and somethings can’t be unlearned. She and Percy were with Michael when he died on that bridge, but she doesn’t know what Jason’s connection to music’s favorite mobster is.

“How’s Lester doing?” Percy finally asks, trying to cover his obvious discomfort. Michael’s death hadn’t been his fault, and as far as she knew, Apollon never blamed him, but they’d set the fake sale up to draw out Kronos, and things had gone very south very fast on the Williamsburg Bridge. Percy didn’t much like to cross it anymore. 

“He still talks about that time you drove his getaway car and distracted the cops for him,” Will says. “He’s never seen anyone parallel park between two trees like that.” 

“Are we really supposed to believe that Apollon, like the singer Apollon, is a mob boss.” Piper asks. 

“Or that he’s your dad?” adds Leo, though Piper’s swat against his arm might signal that she can see the resemblance. 

“He’s multi-talented. And he’s not exactly a mob boss, he’s just- he does things and he gets things done. He’s an artist, and some of that art is original and some isn’t. But look up Dr. Lester Pepedoplas, M.D. some time, and imagine him with blond hair and less acne. But you can believe whatever you want. The scores seven, or six and a half if you prefer with deference to Annabeth, to two. Most people in this room have criminals for parents.”

Annabeth likes Piper too much to remind her that her father definitely did time for tax evasion. It’s different, and he _was_ basically set up. 

“We said, dads,” Leo says, “and Hazel’s mom was the con artist.” 

Hazel’s weird about her mother. Annabeth gets that, the deep love and the burning resentment, all filtered through the loyalty of death. 

And right now she looks sick to her stomach. Hazel gets motion sickness on anything moving that isn’t a horse, but she’s still as a statue this second. Her face is like when they were on that boat in Long Island Sound a few weeks ago, however, or the cab ride to dinner the night before.

“You mom?” Asks Jason, who doesn’t actually know the rhymes and rhythms of their crew. 

“It's ok,” Nico tells her, though Annabeth isn’t sure how he’d know, either. 

She’d brought Piper and Leo here a few times before, particularly when they got to New York and before they’d blended crews with Percy. They’ve come in a few more times to find her and Percy, because Nico’s a really reliable source of information. But Percy’s never brought Frank or Hazel here. He’s very protective of them. Annabeth found a couple of rough around the edges professional criminal prodigies in Piper and Leo and chose them as her crew, but Percy talked Frank and Hazel into the life of professional criminals. He tries to be a mentor as well as boss. Like Luke was for them. 

“My mom,” Hazel says, and her voice doesn’t even catch. “Was Marie Levesque.”

“Wow.”

Jason, Percy, and Nico are used to throwing loaded words around when big names come out. And Annabeth has always known how to wield _Athena Pallas_ for fear and respect.

But Marie Levesque has her own kind of legend. Piper and Leo, who didn’t grow up in this life and community the way Annabeth or the big three boys did, had heard of her when Hazel admitted to it. At one point she’d run legit TV ads advertising her ‘psychic’ services. Annabeth remembers seeing them late at night, before she ran away the first time. 

She’d also been a fence and a forger. Hazel had learned appraisal at her knee and could still tell all you all four Cs of a diamond with just half a glance. If she’d managed it, she’d have been an amazing major crimes detective. 

Unfortunately for her- “Yes, well, even if you never heard, it was common knowledge when I was in the academy. Which is the main reason I’m not there anymore.” Hazel tells Jason. Bitterness always makes Hazel’s southern accent stronger. 

“They’re all idiots,” Percy assures her. “And Jason knows that.”

Jason doesn’t even see Percy’s glare, he’s looking at Hazel and agreeing. 

“I also wasn’t talking about her mother,” Will says, he’s still messing with her arm, and Annabeth is trying to block all of that out with the feel of Percy on her other side, and figuring out what exactly Hazel’s facial expression means. 

“You told him?” She accuses Nico, who shouts “WILL!” so shrilly it could wake the dead. 

Then Nico rushes over to Hazel and takes her hand. Annabeth has known Nico since he was an honest to god child and going to Mythomagic tournaments to steal rare cards for his deck. She’s seen him go through boyfriends for well over a decade. The last time she saw him initiate physical contact so willingly, so easily, was with Bianca. 

“It's ok,” He tells Hazel, “you don’t have to talk about it.” He sighs, “But it won’t be bad if you do.”

Hazel’s voice is very quiet, and if Annabeth were even a few inches further away, she wouldn’t be able to hear it: “They’ll think less of me.”

“They won’t,” Nico says, quietly, but not as softly as Hazel managed, so everyone else can probably hear him too. “maybe of- of him, and they’ll be annoyed with me, but they won’t judge you at all.” He walks her to his little card table and shoots Will another glare as he helps her into the seat on the side opposite Jason. Will looks properly chastised. 

“I’m sorry,” Will says, “I didn’t realize-”

“That one bastard wasn’t the same as another?” Hazel asks. You can hear Louisiana in every syllable. 

Annabeth is very smart, but isn’t sure what that means. She’s a bastard using the old school definition, and so is Percy, Jason, and Nico. Will, probably is too, Apollon hasn’t ever been married. It has long seemed all the same to her. But Percy moves his head from where it's resting against hers, and when she turns to look at him, he’s got his head cocked to the side, staring at Hazel and Nico. He can see something she can’t, like when they’re at a museum arguing over modern art that she hates and he _gets_.

“Nico di Angelo,” Percy finally says, “I can’t believe you hid a cousin from me. You know I love having cousins.” 

“See,” Nico says to Hazel, “ok.”

Her brown eyes reflect the exposed bulbs of Nico’s backroom, making them almost glow gold. “Pluto is my father,” She admits after several long moments. 

Annabeth figured that out just a moment before Hazel vocalized it. 

Leo and Piper let out little gasps of shock, and Frank is looking at Hazel kind of like Percy just was, trying to figure something out. 

“But, Hades Pluto, they say he’s one of the worst there is. Or at least the worst of the big three,” Leo finally says, “Like seriously bad mojo, that dude. He named himself after the god of the dead.” 

“The Underworld,” Nico corrects, he’s made that correction as long as Annabeth’s known him, “And he didn’t name himself, his dad named him.” 

Hazel’s eyes drop to the floor in shame that Annabeth thinks is not her’s.

“Uncle H is definitely not the worst,” Percy puts in, his eyes on Hazel. “That’s just bullshit his brothers cook up. Just so we’re clear, Jupiter is definitely the worst.“

Jason sighs, but doesn’t contradict it, because it's true. But he does say, “Neptune isn’t some bastion of virtue.” 

“Hey, I love my father, and he likes me, but I would never claim he was.” Percy says, “But I don’t want Hazel thinking I judge her. Uncle H is an asshole, obviously. But he’s less of one than Dad and Jupiter.”

“Jason is like you and Nico, then?” Hazel asks, “One of the kids of the official mistresses.” 

“Yeah. Though unlike Percy or Nico, I don’t think he ever much loved my mom, she was just pretty and famous, and Hades was going to have a real life Italian Countessa as a mistress, then my dad was going to have a real life movie star. And also unlike Nico, when she died, he was very upset to be _responsible_ for me.” Jason says, and he’s got his own bitterness now. He’s normally better at hiding it. “And by responsible, I mean he had to be the one to order some assistant to enroll me in boarding school, and make sure I had some place to stay over breaks.” 

“Pluto just left me in boarding school, when my mom died, too.” Hazel sounds kind of in awe that Jason Grace was treated like her. Probably because when Maria di Angelo died, Hades Pluto took a very active role in raising her children.

“Did he pay for your school before that?” Percy asks. 

“Yeah, some uppity place in New Orleans,” Hazel’s frown tells the group what they need to know about that. “Why?”

“Because I have a little brother, Tyson. He was born when I was eight. And my dad didn’t have anything to do with him, at all, until my mom told him he was a monster, but she thought he could do better. He was living in foster care at the time. He’d been moved out of his last home because he was being abused. Dad hadn’t done anything until then.” Percy explains. Annabeth knows it weighs heavy on him, to this day. Percy spent a lot of time being angry at Poseidon on his own and his mom’s behalf, he’s mostly gotten over that. He loves his dad. But he whispered to her, late at night, in the safety of their bed, that he hates him for what he did to Tyson, to Amphitrite, even to Triton sometimes, and that he isn’t sure it's an honor to be his favorite son. “So, see, Hades, not so bad.” Percy says it with good cheer. 

“Your family is terrible,” Will says. “My dad has more kids than he knows what to do with, but he at least calls.” 

“I mean, Grandpa dearest named his sons after Greek Mythology,” Nico points out, “I don’t think he was looking for family functionality.” 

“Also, Will, Just so we’re clear,” Percy says, “You’re dating one of my little cousins, apparently. And Nico can definitely take care of himself. But I want you to know that I am not afraid of murder, and if he kills you first, I’m great at hiding bodies.” His tone is cheerful. And Annabeth knows both that it isn’t that serious a threat, and that he’d kill Will in a second if Nico was in danger. She also knows that she would also be up for body disposal. She’s seen Nico through a lot. She’ll never be quite as protective of him as Jason and Percy, but she makes a good case. 

Will had just saved her life, but she gave him her best “no one will ever find the body” smile. Percy says it makes her look sexy as hell, but apparently he’s the only one who thinks that way. 

“Knowing your cousin, liking him a lot, even, I do not doubt that you are all murder happy,” Will says, “ unfortunately you will not get the chance. Because you folks went after Gaea.” 

“You keep saying that.” Piper says. “Is it really that bad?”

“No,” Annabeth says at the same time as Percy. 

“She is dangerous,” Annabeth offers, leaning into Percy’s side with some exaggeration so she looks less calculating. “But if it meant sure fire death we wouldn’t have considered her.” 

“She’s dangerous,” Hazel repeats, “But it's worth it to destroy her.”

“You didn’t mention you knew her, before,” Percy tries. Always delicate with Hazel, and more now, that she was his new baby cousin. 

“She got my mother killed,” Hazel says, without any preamble. 

“How-?” Leo starts.

“Later,” Nico cuts him off. “There are ways to go after Gaea.” he says, “I won’t deny that there are ways. But they’re all big and risky.”

“And It's not just her,” Will adds, “She has those giants.”

Jason nods along. “I mean, you got rid of Arachne, which is good, but it will get everyone’s attention. And I hate to bring this up, because I know no one’s heard from him in about five years and hope he’s retired or dead, but she was very close to Kronos once. You don’t want to draw him out of the woodwork.” 

“Kronos is dead.” Percy says. 

“I mean,” Frank offers, “I did here some rumors, when I was working as a goon for our last, um, that’s pre-Gaea,” he promises, “con, that some people where maybe looking to find him, see if they can work with him back up to the top.” 

“Kronos is dead.” 

“Percy,” Piper tries her calming voice again. Annabeth sometimes worries about what her partner’s darker impulses do to him, but she’d never actually been scared he’ll hurt her. Piper doesn’t sound so sure, “We should consider all possibilities. Just because conventional wisdom suggests he’s dead doesn’t mean we should assume it, when it isn’t generally accepted.” It's like she’s quoting one of Annabeth’s own briefings. 

Annabeth would be proud, accepting, “We know Kronos is dead,” She admits. This, more than anything else, is their biggest secret. Grover knows this. And Hermes and Hestia, but even Nico, who’d been with them through that power struggle doesn’t know the full extent of its ending. Jason had been in California. “Because we're the ones who chopped up his body, dumped it in a barrel of lye, and then poured the remains into the River. 

“You guys killed Kronos?” Demands Jason. 

“No, we got rid of the body.” Percy says. 

She can see Nico’s eyes working, now knows who was involved in what. He knows Hermes had helped them with the clean up and Kronos had faded away. He’d been to Luke’s very closed casket funeral. 

“You mean-”

“We mean he’s dead,” Percy says, “So Gaea can’t use him to retaliate.” 

Annabeth scans Piper, Leo, Hazel and Frank. Jason and Nico have long known what kind of people Annabeth and Percy are. She knows about Bryce and she knows about Krios, so they have no room to judge. But though she likes her crew, and trusts her crew, they do not know Percy and Annabeth that way. Murder and body disposal could become too much, too quickly. And her priority will be for him and Percy to divorce themselves from the others if anyone gets cold feet and loose lips. Cut their losses and move on. They can’t be weighed down in a war against Gaea. 

Though cousin Hazel might prove to be a problem in that regard. 

But not even Piper and Leo look skittish. 

“So what now?”

“Seems obvious enough,” Hazel offers, “We have Gaea join Kronos.” 

She can hear the smile in Percy’s voice, “Love the enthusiasm, Cuz.” Annabeth does not think she’ll have to worry about cousin Hazel not being able to stand the heat of the kitchen. She is the daughter of Hades Pluto, after all. 

“Well,” Nico says, “Because by coming here, and also blood, or whatever, I’m already guilty by association, you can count me in, too. I might know some underground places to look into, to check.” His dark eyes were suddenly a million miles away. Annabeth Chase was a well connected woman, but Nico seemed to be able to manifest underground contacts and people who should be ghosts so well, he really could be the son of the god of the Underworld. It was almost as weird as Percy and his thing with boats. Thalia and Jason have never once done anything special with lightning, but Hades and Poseidon's kids seemed to like to make truth out of their names. “The twins might be a place to start.” 

“I’m in too,” Jason says, “And only partly because dad will hate it, but when we succeed he’ll have to respect it.” They really all did have different shades of bitterness. 

“I have always wanted to go after a super dangerous crime lord with a literal mob family,” Leo says, light and breezy, sometimes it's too much, but sometimes it is what they need, “I love the Godfather.”

“Eh,’ Percy shrugs, “Nico’s the only Italian one, and it's on his non-mob side.”

“So,” Piper tries, she keeps looking at Jason, and then quickly darts her eyes away. Annabeth has never been great at relationship things. Of the crew, that’s really more Piper’s deal. Annabeth understands her own relationship with Percy, and finds most other people’s romances dull. She’ll have to keep an eye on Jason and Piper and Leo though. Hurt and betrayal aren’t great foundations. “Where do we start?”

“I have plans at headquarters,” Annabeth says, “I can-”

Her attempt to stand up is immediately stopped by Percy and Will. 

“You’re lucky I’m letting you sit up,” Will says, “You’re here for at least the next 24 hours, and then we’ll see about moving you home, where it will be several more days of bedrest.” 

She groans, but she feels Percy nod. If a doctor advises it for Annabeth’s health, he’ll see it enforced. He loves her so much. It is amazing, and the best thing. It is also annoying as hell sometimes. 

“Besides,” Frank says, “tonight didn’t go as planned, a major asset, Arachne, is dead. And we have three new members.” He nods at Jason, Nico, and Will, all of them nod back, though Will has made them no promises. “How flexible are your existing plans.” 

It's a fair question because Frank’s a fair strategist. The answer is fairly. None of her plans are completely ruined yet. Annabeth is a good strategist too. 

And that means being open to changes and new allies, “They don’t need to be thrown out yet,” She says with confidence, “But you’re right, we didn’t plan with Jason or Nico or Will, we didn’t do a bunch of group strategizing at all.” She looks around the room, “I don’t think there's a reason not to have a second brainstorming session right now.”

“Cool,” Will says, “You also need sleep, so I’ll start,” He grins like his father, all shiny white teeth. “I know a guy. Or, my dad knows a guy who’s probably the biggest asshole cop you ever meet.” 

“Do we really need another dirty cop?”

“This guy is not dirty like that, he’s a politician, a schmoozer.” Will says Jason looks kind of sick. “Yeah, as far as I know, everything this guy does is, strictly speaking, legal, but the law gives a lot of leeway to cops. And I know he has some sort of connection with Gaea, though he probably doesn’t know the extent of her illegal activities.”

“Who is this guy?” Nico asks, and he almost sounds jealous. He must really like Will. Annabeth has heard him sound jealous over his sister and his cousin's attention, but never a boy. Jealousy and grudges were one of the ways Nico di Angelo showed his affection. 

“He’s a cop in California, but the fact that my Dad knows him means he has a wide reach. His name is Octavian.” 

“Oh fuck,” Jason says. “Octavian Lyre? Detective Octavian Lyre?”

“Yeah,” Will agrees, “I don’t know where in California he’s from, do you know him?”

“Yeah,” Jason looks even more sick, like Hazel had earlier, “He’s my partner.” 

“Well,” Piper says with her kindest smile, her most sincere, cheer, she’s very very good at acting, “That makes you just the very perfect in, doesn’t it, Detective Grace.” 

She glances at Percy who smiles at her. Then he leans in close, like he’s going to kiss along her jaw, in front of all their friends planning the take down of the century. He does plant a couple of kisses there, just to be sure, “Yeah,” He says, pulling back just a bit, “yeah, this is going to work.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on [tumblr](http://darkmagyk.tumblr.com/).


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